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President Roosevelt notes that William Jennings Bryan has chosen not to respond to his letter to Senator Knox. Knox has “riddled” Samuel Gompers with his speech, which Roosevelt thinks is “an admirable success.” He is glad Knox was able to make use of the injunctions granted on behalf of labor unions.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-30
President Roosevelt responds to the “admirable speech” Senator Knox made about the actions of William Jennings Bryan and Samuel Gompers, as well as several other special representatives of organized labor. Gompers has come out in support of Bryan, who has added a plank about labor injunctions to the Democratic platform. The plank supports the passage of a bill that Roosevelt believes is unenforceable and would damage business by unfairly giving privileges to labor. Roosevelt also argues that Bryan has not made his position on the law clear, and notes that William H. Taft has spoken plainly about his position on labor issues and injunctions.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-21
President Roosevelt has received Reuben D. Silliman’s letter, and agrees with him. He has been trying to have the Republican party adopt a moderate injunction plank for the reasons that Silliman has mentioned.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-18
President Roosevelt tells Senator Lodge that he would oppose a party plank against the use of the labor injunction that would satisfy Samuel Gompers, but he thinks that rather than a colorless plank the Republican Party should take a moderate stance on the issue. He does not expect to satisfy radical labor leaders, but he also does not want to yield entirely to the demands of the Manufacturers’ Association.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-16
President Roosevelt sends a telegram to Frank H. Hitchcock encouraging him to read the telegram Roosevelt previously sent to Frank B. Kellogg. Roosevelt thinks it would be a mistake not to include the injunction plank in the Republican Party platform, and says that they should neither yield to the extremists of the Manufacturers’ Association nor the extremists of the labor party.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-17
President Roosevelt was surprised by Judge Duell’s letter of resignation. Roosevelt favorably considers Duell’s suggestion that Wendell Phillips Stafford replaces him, even though he disagrees with Stafford’s injunction against a labor organization as such injunctions should not be misread as oppressive and tyrannical.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-28
President Roosevelt thanks Secretary of State Root for the humorous translation of a Spanish newspaper. He provides updates on the successful naval review, recent state elections, and the boiling pot of New York politics. Roosevelt finds that William Jennings Bryan’s eagerness for popularity causes him to commit “to preposterous positions,” as revealed by his recent speech.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-04
President Roosevelt asks Attorney General Moody to look into some matters that Samuel Gompers mentions in an enclosed letter. Roosevelt was made uncomfortable by a recent decision by Judge Wendell Phillips Stafford forbidding striking printers from peacefully persuading other printers to join the union and support the strike. While Roosevelt is willing to take any action to prevent violence and mob rule, he also feels that they should do their best “to minimize the chance of having any operation of the law turn into an engine of oppression against the wage workers.” He suggests Moody consult Commissioner of Labor Charles Patrick Neill and Thomas Carl Spelling, counsel for the American Federation of labor, on the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-12
Lyman Abbott writes to President Roosevelt regarding the recent judgements passed down by Ashley M. Gould and Daniel Thew Wright, of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia in a case involving labor leader Samuel Gompers. Abbott thinks that Gould was correct in issuing an injunction, but is less certain about Wright’s actions. He believes that Roosevelt is correct to not interfere at this point.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-27
The report outlines the limits of injunctions in a decision handed down by the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. The decision was made in a case between the Iron Molders’ Union of North America and the Allis-Chalmers Company. On the advice of then-Secretary of War William H. Taft, the Union appealed and limits were placed on the injunctions.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-16
Henry Cabot Lodge tells President Roosevelt that he thinks the Postal Savings is safe, but that there is strong opposition to an anti-injunction plank in the Republican Party Platform.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-16